Mark Ghermezian co-founded Braze (BRZE) and led the company as it’s founding CEO, pioneering a new category. He is also the Founder and General Partner at m]x[v Capital, and Co-Founder and CEO of Gynger and Tildei, two companies that he incubated through the venture firm. He is a serial entrepreneur and successful investor with 20+ years of experience in founding, building, and investing in early-stage SaaS startups.

Discussed in this Episode:

• Learnings from growing Braze from 0 to IPO.
• The behind the scenes on incubating two companies.
• How to identify and hire problem solvers who can execute independently.
• The value of delegating effectively to scale and empower your team.
• Navigating the challenges of raising funding and finding product-market fit.
• Building a strong internal BDR team versus outsourcing sales efforts.
• The role of conviction and intuition in entrepreneurship and investing.

Highlights:
(7:10) The domino effect of luck, timing, and key decisions in Braze's success.
(21:55) Mark reflects on the humbling experience of taking Braze public and the role of his team.
(28:30) Advice for founders on structuring their cap table and choosing the right investors.
(36:41) Raising Gynger's Series A and how it differed from Braze's early fundraising.
(45:09) A pivotal moment in Mark's leadership journey and learning to delegate effectively.
(49:04) One thing revenue leaders believe to be true that Mark thinks is bull$***.
(51:44) One thing that is working for Mark in go-to-market right now.

Guest Speaker Links (Mark Ghermezian):
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/markgher/
m]x[v Capital: www.mxv.vc/
Gynger: www.gynger.io/

Host Speaker Links (Scott Barker):
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/

Sponsors:

• Brought to you by Apollo. Ever wonder what automating your entire outbound workflow could do for your revenue team? Apollo.io brings this to life by centralizing your entire go-to-market execution in one platform. Sellers using automation in their outbound efforts see a 70% increase in open rates and 4x more meetings booked while saving hours on manual, tedious tasks.
• Brought to you by IPS. Most recruiting firms fill an order, but IPS is a different breed of search firm. They dig into your business to understand its current state and the future vision and are relentlessly in pursuit of the very best leaders, sales people, marketers, and engineering talent out there.

The GTM Podcast
Features conversations with the top 1% of tech executives, VCs, and founders - the experts who have ‘been there, done that’ to build some of the fastest-growing software companies. Every week, a guest joins Scott Barker to dissect their stories - revealing what worked, what didn’t, and how things actually went down.

This podcast is produced by GTMnow, the media brand of VC firm GTMfund.
Visit gtmnow.com to subscribe to the newsletter and other content resources.

As Upland's Chief Revenue Officer, Matt Breslin oversees customer success, demand generation and communications, sales, revenue enablement, and revenue analysis, supporting our Shared Services Organization. Matt has 25 years of experience in the software industry, most recently leading a $700 million business at Infor. Prior to that, he held senior leadership positions at SAP and Oracle, driving incredible results across the board. Matt started his career as a Certified Public Accountant for Price Waterhouse and Kraft Foods.

Discussed in this Episode:

• The importance of avoiding blind spots in the sales process and aligning the sales process with the customer's business pains and processes.
• Lessons learned from closing a multi-million dollar deal early in his career, including the value of attention to detail and building strong customer relationships.
• The benefits of focusing sales teams on specific sales motions, such as new logo acquisition or account expansion.

Highlights:
(14:10) Challenging the belief that 3-5X pipeline coverage is the answer to sales problems.
(18:44) The story of driving to a customer's child's soccer game to close a multi-million dollar deal.
(26:01) The biggest surprise when transitioning from an individual contributor to a leader.
(41:06) The importance of aligning sales teams to the right motions.
(44:16) One thing revenue leaders believe to be true that Matt thinks is bull$***.
(45:23) One thing that is working for Matt in go-to-market right now.

Guest Speaker (Matt Breslin):
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-breslin-09a4354/

Sponsors:

• Brought to you by Apollo. Ever wonder what automating your entire outbound workflow could do for your revenue team? Apollo.io brings this to life by centralizing your entire go-to-market execution in one platform. Sellers using automation in their outbound efforts see a 70% increase in open rates and 4x more meetings booked while saving hours on manual, tedious tasks.
• Brought to you by Vanta. Your deal is almost closed, and all that’s left is the security review. But when it comes to those lengthy security questionnaires, the endless back and forths can often cause deals to stall out, leaving your deal at risk and dollars on the table. With Vanta Questionnaire Automation, GTM teams can complete security reviews up to 5X faster. Over 8,000 global companies use Vanta to streamline security questionnaires and close deals fast. Register for an upcoming webinar with live Q&A here.
• Brought to you by IPS. Most recruiting firms fill an order, but IPS is a different breed of search firm. They dig into your business to understand its current state and the future vision and are relentlessly in pursuit of the very best leaders, sales people, marketers, and engineering talent out there.

The GTM Podcast
Features conversations with the top 1% of tech executives, VCs, and founders - the experts who have ‘been there, done that’ to build some of the fastest-growing software companies. Every week, a guest joins Scott Barker to dissect their stories - revealing what worked, what didn’t, and how things actually went down.

This podcast is produced by GTMnow, the media brand of VC firm GTMfund.
Visit gtmnow.com to subscribe to the newsletter and other content resources.

Adriana Gil Miner is CMO at Iterable, the AI-powered customer communication platform. Passionate about customer engagement, her leadership has contributed to Iterable's success in helping brands like Redfin, Priceline, and Volvo deliver individualized, harmonized and dynamic communications at scale. Prior to her role at Iterable, Adriana held influential senior leadership positions at Tableau, where she significantly contributed to the company's remarkable growth from $250 million to over $1 billion, culminating in the successful Salesforce acquisition. Her leadership also left an indelible mark on Qumulo, a data storage startup, and Artefact, with its spinoff—10,000ft—acquired by Smartsheet in 2019. Gil Miner’s 20+ years of marketing experience span prominent names like American Express, Digitas, and Weber Shandwick.

Discussed in this Episode:

• Leveraging AI and ChatGPT for creative, high-volume ad testing and optimization.
• The importance of post-sale marketing and customer lifecycle management.
• Applying B2C marketing strategies to enhance B2B customer engagement and retention.
• Emerging B2B marketing trends, including SMS as a core communication channel.
• Building authentic influence through community, word-of-mouth, and organic channels.
• The declining relevance of traditional PR and analyst relations in the face of digital influence.

Highlights:
(13:45) Using ChatGPT to generate and test 300+ ads, breaking demo request records.
(20:25) The untapped potential of post-sale marketing and customer lifecycle in B2B.
(25:30) SMS predicted to become a key B2B engagement channel.
(29:56) Iterable's marketing team now has a dedicated expansion pipeline goal.
(33:39) One thing revenue leaders believe to be true that Adriana thinks is bull$***.(36:47) One thing that is working for Adriana in go-to-market right now.

Guest Speaker Links (Adriana Gil Miner):
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/agilminer/

Host Speaker Links (Scott Barker):
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/

Sponsors:

• Brought to you by Apollo. Ever wonder what automating your entire outbound workflow could do for your revenue team? Apollo.io brings this to life by centralizing your entire go-to-market execution in one platform. Sellers using automation in their outbound efforts see a 70% increase in open rates and 4x more meetings booked while saving hours on manual, tedious tasks.
• Brought to you by IPS. Most recruiting firms fill an order, but IPS is a different breed of search firm. They dig into your business to understand its current state and the future vision and are relentlessly in pursuit of the very best leaders, sales people, marketers, and engineering talent out there. Whether you want advice, have one hard to fill role or a team buildout, we can't recommend IPS enough.

The GTM Podcast
Features conversations with the top 1% of tech executives, VCs, and founders - the experts who have ‘been there, done that’ to build some of the fastest-growing software companies. Every week, a guest joins Scott Barker to dissect their stories - revealing what worked, what didn’t, and how things actually went down.

This podcast is produced by GTMnow, the media brand of VC firm GTMfund.
Visit gtmnow.com to subscribe to the newsletter and other content resources.

Andrew Johnston is currently the Head of Sales at Superhuman, where he leads the go-to-market strategy as part of the executive team. Previously, he built the Mid-Market and PLS motion at Scale AI and led the global sales team at SendGrid following its acquisition by Twilio and its IPO.

Discussed in this Episode:

• The key differences between product-led growth (PLG) and product-led sales (PLS).
• When and why companies should consider transitioning from PLG to PLS.
• The challenges of combining distinct sales teams during an acquisition.
• How to effectively enable sales reps during a product expansion.
• The importance of understanding your ideal customer profile (ICP) for successful PLS.
• Strategies for moving upmarket, such as implementing paid pilots.
• Creating career paths and incentives for sales reps in different segments.

Highlights:
(9:50) Andrew's definition of product-led growth and how it differs from product-led sales.
(12:16) The triggers for considering a transition from a PLG to a PLS approach.
(25:00) The challenges faced when combining SendGrid and Twilio's sales teams post-acquisition.
(32:49) How Twilio's unique "estimated ARR" commission structure impacted sales behavior.
(35:55) Using SendGrid as a "trojan horse" to expand Twilio's presence in customer accounts.
(42:00) One thing revenue leaders believe to be true that Andrew thinks is bull$***
(47:09) One thing that is working for Andrew in go-to-market right now.

Guest Speaker Links (Andrew Johnston):
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewfoxjohnston/

Host Speaker Links (Scott Barker):
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/

Sponsors:

• Brought to you by Apollo. Ever wonder what automating your entire outbound workflow could do for your revenue team? Apollo.io brings this to life by centralizing your entire go-to-market execution in one platform. Sellers using automation in their outbound efforts see a 70% increase in open rates and 4x more meetings booked while saving hours on manual, tedious tasks.
• Brought to you by IPS. Most recruiting firms fill an order, but IPS is a different breed of search firm. They dig into your business to understand its current state and the future vision and are relentlessly in pursuit of the very best leaders, sales people, marketers, and engineering talent out there. Whether you want advice, have one hard to fill role or a team buildout, we can't recommend IPS enough.

The GTM Podcast
Features conversations with the top 1% of tech executives, VCs, and founders - the experts who have ‘been there, done that’ to build some of the fastest-growing software companies. Every week, a guest joins Scott Barker to dissect their stories - revealing what worked, what didn’t, and how things actually went down.

This podcast is produced by GTMnow, the media brand of VC firm GTMfund.
Visit gtmnow.com to subscribe to the newsletter and other content resources.

Sam Blond is the former Chief Revenue Officer at Brex, where he scaled revenue from $1M to hundreds of millions in ARR. Prior to Brex, Sam served as VP of Sales at Zenefits, growing revenue from $1M to $70M in just two years. After his operating roles, Sam joined Founders Fund as an investing partner before leaving to co-found a new startup.

Discussed in this Episode:

• Why investing early in sales ops and rev ops is critical for scaling revenue.
• How to generate demand through creative campaigns and a "concentric circles" approach.
• The risks of scaling sales teams too quickly based on flawed hiring models.
• What VCs look for in a compelling founder pitch, beyond just business metrics.
• Why focusing on generating pipeline is often better than optimizing conversions.
• How to leverage customer marketing and "raving fans" as an early acquisition channel.

Highlights:
[5:00] – Sam's incredible track record scaling Brex and Zenefits from $1M to $100M+ ARR.
[13:58] – Outlining the most creative and successful demand gen campaigns run at Brex.
[20:17] – The importance of sustaining a culture of creativity in marketing as you scale.
[33:35] – Mistakes made at Zenefits: investing in rev ops too late, deprioritizing customer experience, hiring too fast.
[43:45] – What VCs look for in founders when metrics alone aren't enough to get the deal done.
[52:15] – One thing revenue leaders believe to be true that Sam thinks is bull$***
[60:21] – One thing that is working for Sam in go-to-market right now.

Guest Speaker Links (Sam Blond):
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sam-blond-791026b/

Host Speaker Links (Scott Barker):
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/

Sponsors:

• Brought to you by Flex. Flex is a finance super app built around a credit card with unique Net-60 day terms that enables businesses to make an investment today and pay it back 60 days later with zero percent interest. If your business growth is constrained by the cashflow you need for inventory, advertising, or something else, Flex could provide you with an interesting growth lever.

The GTM Podcast
Features conversations with the top 1% of tech executives, VCs, and founders - the experts who have ‘been there, done that’ to build some of the fastest-growing software companies. Every week, a guest joins Scott Barker to dissect their stories - revealing what worked, what didn’t, and how things actually went down.

This podcast is produced by GTMnow, the media brand of VC firm GTMfund.
Visit gtmnow.com to subscribe to the newsletter and other content resources.

Ralph Barsi is the VP of Sales at Kahua, a leading construction management platform. Prior to Kahua, Ralph held executive roles at Tray.io and ServiceNow. While at ServiceNow, he built and led a team of 230 people across the globe, during thecompany’s growth from from $1 billion to over $4 billion in revenue. Prior to ServiceNow, Ralph was the VP of Field Operations at Achievers (acquired by Blackhawk Network) and the Manager of Sales Development at InsideView (acquired by DemandBase). Ralph serves as an advisor to go-to-market leaders at Aircover, Scale Venture Partners, TopHap, and others. He is also a growth stage investor with the GTMfund. Barsi dedicates much of his time serving others. In addition to his work at Kahua, Ralphmentors and advises a host of SaaS leaders and leadership programs.

Discussed in this Episode:

• The importance of implementing systems and processes in sales and life.
• How frameworks like SCQA (Situation, Challenge, Question, Answer) and PAR (Problem, Action, Result) can improve communication.
• Strategies for delivering difficult messages, such as during a reorganization or reduction in force.
• The value of staying in touch with former colleagues and playing the long game in relationships.
• Tactics for maintaining a robust contact database and regularly checking in with people.
• How to motivate and guide reps who are facing a challenging selling environment.
• The significance of chronicling your work and keeping a record of your achievements.

Highlights:
(8:28) Introduction of the quote "Every system is perfectly designed to get the results it gets" by Edwards Deming.
(14:33) Discussion on using frameworks to communicate effectively with a large or small audience.
(24:27) Ralph's journey from Compliance360 to Kahua and the importance of maintaining long-term relationships.
(31:55) The system Ralph uses to stay in touch with his extensive network of contacts.
(35:41) Strategies for shifting focus and moving forward when facing challenges or setbacks.
(41:45) One thing revenue leaders believe to be true that Ralph thinks is bull$***(48:15) One thing that is working for Ralph in go-to-market right now.

Guest Speaker Links (Ralph Barsi):
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ralphbarsi

Host Speaker Links (Scott Barker):
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/

The GTM Podcast
Features conversations with the top 1% of tech executives, VCs, and founders - the experts who have ‘been there, done that’ to build some of the fastest-growing software companies. Every week, a guest joins Scott Barker to dissect their stories - revealing what worked, what didn’t, and how things actually went down.

This podcast is produced by GTMnow, the media brand of VC firm GTMfund.
Visit gtmnow.com to subscribe to the newsletter and other content resources.

Annelise Osborne is Chief Business Officer at Kadena, a Layer 1, POW blockchain where she is focused on upgrading finance. Annelise has 20 years of experience in traditional finance and seven years in digital assets. She is a thought leader, board advisor, university lecturer and author. Her book, From Hoodies to Suits: Innovating Digital Assets in Traditional Finance, hit shelves in June. Annelise holds an MBA from Columbia Business School and a BA in Economics from The College of William and Mary.

Discussed in this Episode:

• The impact of cryptocurrency market fluctuations on the adoption of blockchain technology.
• How digital assets and blockchain are upgrading finance and why it matters for businesses.
• The changing demographics and demands of Millennial and Gen Z investors.
• The potential for blockchain to revolutionize the future of work and compensation.
• Advice for transitioning from traditional finance or software to a career in Web3.
• The importance of community building and learning from others in the blockchain space.

Highlights:
[3:47] – Annelise explains the relationship between blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies.
[11:10] – The archaic nature of traditional finance and the need for modernization.
[18:01] – How companies can generate revenue and find opportunities in the Web3 space.
[26:02] – The main themes of her book "From Hoodies to Suits."
[31:49] – The potential for blockchain to democratize access to venture investing.[41:49] – How millennials invest differently and the future of fractionalized investments.
[44:11] – Blockchain's ability to trace data and enable real-time performance-based compensation.
[51:17] – One thing revenue leaders believe to be true that Annelise thinks is bull$***
[52:27] – One thing that is working for Annelise in go-to-market right now.

Guest Speaker Links (Annelise Osborne):
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annelise-osborne-7611176/
Book: From Hoodies to Suits: Innovating Digital Assets in Traditional Finance

Host Speaker Links (Scott Barker):
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/

The GTM Podcast
Features conversations with the top 1% of tech executives, VCs, and founders - the experts who have ‘been there, done that’ to build some of the fastest-growing software companies. Every week, a guest joins Scott Barker to dissect their stories - revealing what worked, what didn’t, and how things actually went down.

This podcast is produced by GTMnow, the media brand of VC firm GTMfund.
Visit gtmnow.com to subscribe to the newsletter and other content resources.

David Greenberger leads CHEQ’s North America sales team. CHEQ is a cybersecurity platform primarily focused on protecting the Go-to-Market organization (preventing fake leads to sales team, skewed analytics from bots/malicious users etc). David is well-versed in building and perfecting Go-To-Market processes both from $0 and at 100 y/o companies. CHEQ is David’s 5th startup. Directly before CHEQ, David was in a leadership capacity at Hitachi Vantara, in the deep-enterprise Big Data / AI space. Prior to that he's built teams at Foursquare, Yext, Angi and Splash.

Discussed in this Episode:

• The importance of trust in building effective go-to-market strategies.
• Navigating the transition from startups to large enterprises in sales roles.
• Strategies for hiring and developing sales talent with non-traditional backgrounds.
• The value of long-term relationships and "compound interest" in professional growth.
• Balancing internal and external relationships in large organizations.
• The resurgence of old-school, in-person tactics in modern sales approaches.
• Addressing challenges of invalid traffic and bots in digital marketing.

Highlights:
[13:35] – Insights on managing generational differences and career development in sales teams.
[22:05] – David's experience transitioning from startups to a $90 billion organization.
[25:50] – The story of a successful SDR who rapidly progressed to closing multi-million dollar deals.
[37:49] – One thing revenue leaders believe to be true that David thinks is bull$***[40:04] – One thing that is working for David in go-to-market right now

Guest Speaker Links (David Greenberger):
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidgreenberger/

Host Speaker Links (Scott Barker):
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/

Sponsors:

• Brought to you by Flex. Flex is a finance super app built around a credit card with unique Net-60 day terms that enables businesses to make an investment today and pay it back 60 days later with zero percent interest. If your business growth is constrained by the cashflow you need for inventory, advertising, or something else, Flex could provide you with an interesting growth lever.
• Brought to you by Orum. Orum is an AI-powered live conversation platform designed to supercharge sales activity, connect sales teams, and drive more revenue over the phone. Orum’s platform includes an AI-dialer that automates the manual aspects of calling and get sales reps into more conversations, a virtual sales floor for teams to build camaraderie and learn from one another, as well as analytics and coaching tools to help teams improve together.

The GTM Podcast
Features conversations with the top 1% of tech executives, VCs, and founders - the experts who have ‘been there, done that’ to build some of the fastest-growing software companies. Every week, a guest joins Scott Barker to dissect their stories - revealing what worked, what didn’t, and how things actually went down.

This podcast is produced by GTMnow, the media brand of VC firm GTMfund.
Visit gtmnow.com to subscribe to the newsletter and other content resources.